Esther, The Church and The Jews

Purim, Esther, The Church And The Jews

The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is about to experience a unification unlike she has ever seen before in her history. The coming together of the ONE NEW MAN in Christ was foreshadowed in the book of Esther, the backdrop for the Jewish Feast of Purim. Satan has tried to instill hatred in the hearts of Christians toward the Jews but to see the curse removed from our land and homes, we must once again turn our hearts to the fathers of our heritage - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - and their seed - the Jews.

By Chris McDonald

TEXT: Esther 4:14-16 - For if you altogether hold your peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? [15] Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, [16] Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

Malachi 4:5-6 - Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: [6] And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Ephes. 2:14-15 - For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; [15] Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

It's been about a year now since I took my first ever visit to the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. It was a life-changing experience but one that just accentuated a broken heart the Lord had given me since the summer of 1999 over the plight of the Jews and the Church. As I listened to the presentations and watched the videos I couldn't help but think back to a story taken right out of the Bible of Israel's first real brush with total extinction and annihilation. Hitler was not the first with murder in his heart toward the Jews. Haman was probably not either but he was the first one recorded in scripture who literally tried to have every single Jewish boy, girl, man and woman exterminated from the kingdom over which he had authority. Pharaoh and Herod had been terrible despots who persecuted the Jews and killed untold tens of thousands (hundreds of thousands possibly under Pharaoh) but Haman was the first real true-blue demonically inspired ruler to try and kill an entire race. He and Hitler were but dress rehearsals for the coming Antichrist who will try and do the same again and succeed for a season before being stopped and destroyed by the brightness of our coming Redeemer - Jesus Christ. Glory to the Lamb. Pardon me for a minute while I type these words to stop and praise God. The Jews have seen some dark days and their future is not too great in the near term but JERUSALEM will once again be the center and capital of the WORLD and ALL NATIONS will come and worship the KING there one day. Her king is Jesus Christ, a JEW. Hallelujah. Born of the stock of Jesse and David, a descendant of Abraham, the MESSIAH of whom Israel looks so hard today for but is blinded to Him because of her unbelief.

Anti-Semitism is hardly a modern occurrence. Israel's embittered enemies have, with craft and cruel hatred, plotted the destruction of God's chosen - the sons of Jacob. Yet, the wayside of human history is strewn with the debris of Israel's detractors. Through all their plotting and debauchery - they have only brought about their own demise. Their only lasting achievement has been an occasion for a Jewish holiday. Such was the case with Pharaoh when the Lord instituted Passover. Such was the case with the defeat of Antiochus Epiphanies and the resulting feast of Hanukkah. Such was also the case with the defeat of Hitler, which paved the way for the emergence of the modern state of Israel, and its annual Independence Day celebration. It was and is also true of the Jewish feast of Purim and its institution in ancient Persia.

The Feast of Purim contains a beautiful story of God's redemption and His protection of His people Israel through the people of Esther and Mordecai. Purim celebrates Esther and Mordecai's efforts to save the Jews from national extermination at the hands of the King who was convinced by Haman they were a threat to his kingdom. We want to take a look at the historical and prophetic aspects of this great feast which will be celebrated shortly in latter February (February 26, 2002).

The Historical Background

Purim is the Hebrew word for "lots" in remembrance of the pur (lot) cast by wicked Haman to determine the month and day on which the Jewish people were to be killed throughout the mighty Persian Empire. Ironically, the lots that were thrown for Israel's destruction actually set the date for a new national celebration.

Known as the "Feast of Esther," and in antiquity as "Mordecai's Day," Purim commemorates the deliverance of God's people at the hands of Esther and Mordecai. It is an additional feast, one that was instituted centuries after the time of Moses. As such, Purim is nowhere to be found in the divinely given feasts of Leviticus 23. But despite this fact, Purim is a biblical feast and the best-known Jewish holiday added since the time of Moses. The record of its historical background and observance is presented in the Bible in the book of Esther. The authorship of the book of Esther is not certain, but Mordecai has been traditionally viewed as its author. This seems most likely since it was Mordecai who communicated the institution of Purim to the Jewish people throughout the Persian Empire by way of official letter. Mordecai was also intimately acquainted with Persian laws and culture woven throughout the book of Esther.

Esther 9:20 - And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,

Esther 9:29 - Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim.

A Second Purim?

According to Sid Roth's Messianic Vision ministry, more than sixteen million Soviet Jews are slated for execution. According to sources inside the Soviet Union there are over 16 million Soviet Jews with at least 25% Jewish blood. The situation there is worsening daily. Huge shortages are everywhere in the former Soviet republic and everything the Soviets have built is literally falling apart. This is being heard throughout the world. Just as Jewry was used as a scapegoat in the early 1930s, so is also modern Jewry going to be used for a scapegoat. From Soviet intellectuals to skinheads there is a consensus - the enemy is the Jew.

The Holocaust of the 1930s was one of the most vile acts of human depravity mankind has ever known. Christianity did not create the Holocaust. But Christianity if one can believe it made the Holocaust possible. Without Christian anti-Semitism, the Holocaust would have been inconceivable even in the worst bigots among German's elite. Hitler and the Nazis found in medieval Catholic anti-Jewish legislation a model for their own, and they read and reprinted Martin Luther's anti-Semitic writings. It is instructive that the Holocaust was unleashed by the only major country in Europe having an equal number of Catholics and Protestants. Both traditions were saturated with Jew-hatred. Interestingly enough at the early part of the century, after the Azusa Street Revival and the Welsh Revival, the major church authorities in Germany actually wrote and signed a document rejecting this move of the Holy Spirit. Essentially they told the Holy Spirit, "Don't come here." That action created a vacuum in the Spirit world there. Since they rejected the move of the Holy Spirit, there was plenty for the spirit of antichrist to move in. People say it all the time - "How could some of the finest people in the world of Germany have allowed the Holocaust to happen?" Well, the spirit of antichrist was able to fully work. The power of the Holy Spirit was turned away. We will deal with this in a second journal related to Purim. The same principle applies to our children, in our homes, in the church, and in our nation. If we don't fill our lives with God, then the enemy is only too happy to oblige and fill them with destruction. If the watchmen will not stay awake, the city will be taken.

The powers of darkness are determined to steal our inheritance. There is a call to arms against the forces of evil, and the only ones who can effectively wage war in power are those who know the name of Jesus and are filled with the Holy Ghost. Our mission on earth is to bring down the power and glory of God and usher in His presence.

Now, to get back our point on Jewry. Why do so many people hate the Jews? Before Jesus came, the answer was simple: Satan was using any means necessary at his disposal to annihilate the people who would give birth to the Messiah. But since that has already happened, why is Satan still trying to destroy the Jews? And why should this concern the church? Why is it so important for Christians to embrace once again their Jewish heritage? Why is it so important that we recognize our Jewish roots once again? The answer is this: The Jewish people hold the key to evangelizing the world, to Messiah's return and to Satan's final defeat.

What better tool then can Satan use to dehumanize and destroy the Jew than the Christian world? For nearly 2,000 years the Christian world has relentlessly dehumanized the Jew, enabling the Holocaust, the ultimate consequence of this dehumanization, to take place. While it is true that many Nazis were non-Christians they were all, as the Jewish philosopher Eleazar Berkowitz has pointed out, the "children of Christians."

We could easily say "if they had really been born again, they would have never done such fiendish things." That is certainly true, but it's not that simple. Some church leaders who seemed to be so "Christian," so Christ like in word and deed, also had one great glaring weakness: They viciously maligned the Jewish people! Sometimes they even approved of violence against them. Those who claimed to be the Lord's brothers and sisters after the spirit attacked His brothers and sisters after the flesh. And this tragic story is not over. We are nearing the end of the race and the church continues to remain in darkness concerning Her roots. But as Esther was called to the kingdom for such a time of deliverance, we as His Body have been aligned in this generation to stand up and be a Mordecai for our fellow brethren!

The Jews Hold The Key To The World's Deliverance

In Matthew 23:39, Jesus tells us that the last Biblical event necessary before His return literally to this earth is the Jew's recognition of Him as their Messiah. They will first recognize another one (the Antichrist) but will just as quickly realize that the one whom was crucified outside Jerusalem's gates some 2,000 years ago was the one God sent to this earth to redeem humanity. He came to His own, (the Jews) and they received Him not. One day, that will change.

Matthew 23:39 - For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Just as Jews were used mightily to initiate the gospel at the first coming of Jesus, they will be raised up as mighty witnesses to evangelize the world just before His return the second time. We know from scripture that during the Great Tribulation period at least 144,000 Jewish evangelists will be sent throughout the earth to witness of the Messiah's soon return. These evangelists will number 12,000 each from the original tribes of Israel. They will once again turn the world upside down with the good news of the Messiah. In addition, I'm sure they will give the Antichrist fits in his bid for world domination. These will be spirit-filled individuals. Yes, I believe they will be baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with tongues. They will have "the spirit of prophecy."

Isaiah 2:3 - And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

The Jews Are God's Instruments To Bless And To Curse Nations And Individuals

The Jewish race is not only essential to Messiah's return but also is God's instrument to BLESS and CURSE both individuals and nations. God tells Abraham in Genesis 12:3:

Genesis 12:3 - And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curses thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Jesus also said that all nations will be judged according to their treatment and actions towards the Jewish people:

Matthew 25:31-32 - When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: [32] And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats:

Do you know the difference between a goat and a sheep? A goat has a mind of its own. A sheep follows the shepherd. What will be the single issue of obedience that will cause this distinction? The issue of division is found in Matthew 25:40. Jesus says, "whatsoever you did to the least of these my brothers of mine, you did for me." Who are His brothers? In context, He is speaking of His brothers after the flesh, the Jewish people. Yes, you can apply this promise to the future spiritual seed of Abraham (Christians) but at that moment in time He was speaking clearly about the physical JEW. Even the Greek word here for "brother" literally means, "from the womb."

The whole world is out of kilter when the Jew is out of God's predetermined plan. Even the boundaries of the nations are based on the Jewish nation being in place.

Deut. 32:8 - When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.

When the Jews are out of God's assigned boundaries (Israel) they are under a curse. <Deut. 28:36, 28:8b> Conversely, God says He will bless the Jewish people when they are in the land. But only when the Jewish people will be blessed when they are in place physically and spiritually; the whole world will be blessed. In that day, Israel will be like the garden of Eden (Ezekiel 36:35) and Messiah will rule the world from Jerusalem.

Deut. 28:36 - The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shall set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shall thou serve other gods, wood and stone.

Deut. 28:8 - The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Ezekiel 36:35 - And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.

But just as Satan has a strategy to destroy all the Jewish people, God has a strategy to preserve them. No other nation in the universe has had so many enemies and survived. The church has got to be a last-day "Esther," for "such a time as this." The threat to murder all Jews didn't die with Hitler's suicide. In March, 1953, Joseph Stalin developed a master plan to murder all the Soviet Jews (from Wilmington's Guide to the Bible) But like Haman did in the book of Esther, Stalin died before the plan could be implemented. Ironically, he was buried on Purim, the day Jews celebrate their great victory over Haman. The same spirit that was bound in Haman, Stalin and Hitler remains alive and well today manipulating world events to destroy the Jews. And if the church of the Lord Jesus does not come to its senses and remains silent as it did in World War II when Hitler murdered 6 million, we will be facing another Holocaust. Our hands are already stained with blood.

Esther, A Type of the End-Time Church

The church has a destiny to fulfill. We were created to do battle in these end-times on behalf of the Jewish people. This is why without question this is our greatest hour on this planet.

God's Master Strategy

God's master strategy is revealed in the book of Esther. Allegorically speaking, Esther represents the end-time Church. Esther was adopted into a Jewish family. She was an orphan without father or mother. Esther was flawless, beautiful, young virgin. She had favor with the king. And Esther was totally obedient. She was also instructed to keep her Jewish identity hidden.

All those same qualities describe the church of the Lord Jesus! When God sees His church, He sees no flaws, blemishes, or sins. As God's child we are as righteous as Jesus. Esther (CHURCH) you are beautiful! We are God's workmanship, created in His image. We are as loved, appreciated and accepted as Jesus. At the beginning of the book of Esther, we read that the queen of the land was rebellious In fact, that is what her name, Vashti, means. in this kingdom, the queen had to subject to the complete will of the king. Because Vashti was not willing to submit, she was removed and a search was conducted for a new queen. In spite of this the chances for Esther, an orphan, without the proper heritage, were SLIM to NONE of her ever becoming queen. This was how much of a chance the Gentiles had of being grafted in spiritually into the seed of Abraham. Yet, neither happened by chance but by God's divine plan.

In preparation of Esther's new responsibility she had to bathe for six months in oil of myrrh. The myrrh plant is not sweet on the outside, but when it is crushed the fragrance is spectacular. Esther's "crushing" was a type of the sufferings we go through as Christians that will in the end produce JESUS in us. The fragrance that God wants from us is pure Jesus. The fragrance Paul produced in the end after years of sufferings, beatings, stonings and desertions was JESUS. In the midst of adversity he would be filled with joy. People were watching him. Would he complain or murmur when circumstances were bad? Or would he react based on the pure truth of the Word? As people watched his childlike faith, they were provoked to jealousy. What he had, they wanted. And this is the time we've as the church of the Lord Jesus have been called to- to provoke the Jewish people to jealousy so they will embrace Messiah Jesus and be saved. Paul prayed that ALL MEN MIGHT BE SAVED.

Galatians 2:20 - I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Romans 10:1-4 - Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. [2] For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. [3] For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. [4] For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Esther did not become queen right away. It took four years before she was even considered by the king. Faith and patience were two of her virtues. And it must be ours as well. The problems we face will change or God will change us through them. THE KING is molding us into His image. Not only are people watching you, but angels, demons, those who have died, the devil and God are watching you. We have a "great cloud of witnesses," Paul says. It is as though we are an actor on a stage and the whole world wants to see if we will be faithful to God no matter the circumstances! God has promised that no matter what happens, He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will be faithful to you in all things no matter the plight. We get so caught up in the outcome we forget to realize that the most important part of this journey is the path we walk everyday that changes us into His image. We must decrease, He must increase and that is so terribly hard for us to see sometime. Religion plays up what we do.

Esther's Secret Heritage Hidden Till the Right Time To Save the Life of the Entire Jewish Race

God gave Esther favor and approval with the king, and she was grafted into royalty. Although she was now the queen, she still honored Mordecai, the one who had raised her, by keeping secret her family and Jewish background. Esther might have argued with Mordecai and said, "Now that I am queen, I want to tell the king about my family." I am glad she was obedient because, had she opened her mouth, Mordecai would one day overheard two royal guards conspiring to kill the king. The guards ignored Mordecai because they were unaware of his relationship to Esther. Later, Mordecai alerted Esther, who in turn reported the conspiracy to the King.

Ester could have taken responsibility and credit for the heroics, but instead gave full credit to Mordecai. As a result, Mordecai's name was written in the records of the king. He received no money or recognition, not even an article in the Sushan Times! Mordecai could have turned bitter. Instead, he looked to God for His reward. Later on, God used this incident to save Mordecai's life from a madman named Haman.

Haman's name means "rager," "mad one" and "angry." This describes what happened when Mordecai refused to kneel down before him. Haman became so enraged he looked away for a way to kill not just Mordecai, but ALL JEWS.

Haman tried to convince those in authority that it was not in their best interest to tolerate the Jew. And to make his proposal more attractive, he offered the king a million dollars worth of silver. It's the same spirit that drive the Arabs to blackmail the west in return for the United States to pressure Israel into concessions concerning the Middle East. "Dump Israel, we want gas!" was one of the common slogans heard in the 1970s. Those slogans have increased in their venom AND intensity since that time. Esther could not counter Haman's move by just taking up offerings, which was her first plan when she heard Mordecai was fasting, weeping and in sackcloth. Clothing was the last thing Mordecai needed. Finally, Esther got the message. Fasting, humility and prayer were the only things that would save the lives of the Jews. When the prayer and fasting started, Satan moved quicker to implement his plan for his murderous plot he was trying to implement through Haman.

First, he had to kill Esther. When Mordecai commanded her to go to the king, Satan thought he had her. It was the law of the land that no queen could go to the king unless he requested her presence. The king had not requested her presence for 30 days. Perhaps he was angry with her. Perhaps he was tired of her. Perhaps someone had replaced her like she had replaced Vashti. If Esther came unsolicited and he did not extend his scepter, the punishment was death. The king had already proven he was not afraid of disposing of a queen:) This situation however was urgent. Haman was going to exterminate every Jew in the Kingdom.

Esther, whose name means "star." And do you know who the star represents? That is the name for Jesus in Revelation 22:16, "I am the ...bright and Morning STAR." Every Jewish person has two names; one is from the culture in which he or she lives and other is a Hebrew name. Esther, your Hebrew name is Hadassah, which means "myrtle." Myrtle is figurative of the gospel. This was her call as the queen for the time the Lord placed her in the Kingdom. It is the call of the church for this end-time era we are in today in relation to our role as protectors of the Jews.

Philip. 2:15 - That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights ("stars") as you hold out the Word of Life in the world;

Micah 5:3 - Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

We will start giving birth to spiritual children (Jew and Gentile) when we start travailing, fasting and praying. It's time for the church to intercede and travail for the Jewish people and reach out to them with the gospel. The same message God was sending to Esther then is the same one He is sending now. Esther could have remained comfortable in her role as queen and watched action less as Haman's plan to exterminate the Jews was produced. She had that right. So too today, we can be comfortable in our church, singing our hymns, having great fellowship and building our golden cathedrals but:

Esther 4:13-14 - Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shall escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. [14] For if thou altogether holds thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

Esther laid down her life and went to the king. And God gave her favor. The door to the king was very narrow. Esther's only way of entry was to be touched by the golden scepter. Today, that golden scepter for access to God is the Messiah.

The Fate of All Jew-Haters

Satan missed out on Esther so he tried to destroy Mordecai. Satan used Haman's wife, Zeresh, to tell Haman to build seventy-foot gallows for Mordecai. But then came God's providence. Some would say the king's inability to sleep was just coincidence. In addition to insomnia he also desired to read the chronicles of the kingdom. In reading these chronicles he "just happened" to notice out of the thousands of pages the section about Mordecai saving his life. In addition, he asked what honor Mordecai had received. In doing so, he realized that Mordecai had received no reward. At the precise moment the king decides to reward Mordecai, Haman came to get permission to hang Mordecai. Coincidence? NO! It was God's plan.

There is a law of sowing and reaping and Haman was about to get his due. Not only did he have to publicly honor Mordecai but he had a new problem - what to do with the 75-foot gallows. Then his wife, who had prompted him to build the gallows in the first place - had another revelation:

Esther 6:13 - And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.

But it was too late. Another law of God had taken effect. God uses Israel as His method of divine retribution. Israel is similar to Jesus, the "stone," in this respect. The kingdoms of this world who will not worship Jesus will one day be crushed by the STONE.

Psalm 118:22 - The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

Matthew 21:44 - And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Jeremiah 51:20 - Thou (ISRAEL) art my WAR CLUB (battle axe) and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;

Jeremiah 30:16 - Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.

Haman's gallows were similar to Satan's cross for Jesus. As Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 2:8:

1 Cor. 2:8 - Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

If Satan had understood, he never would have orchestrated the cross. It is the last thing he would have allowed because it spelled his defeat. And if Haman had realized who would swing on his gallows (type of the cross), he never would have built them.

A New Weapon

At her second banquet for Haman and the king, Esther had the chutzpah (nerve) to reveal her Jewish connection and to plead for the lives of HER PEOPLE. As a result, the King changed his mind, but even he could not change his edict. There had to be a higher law to spare the Jewish people. The higher law was to allow them to defend themselves with the sword.

Esther 9:5 - Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would unto those that hated them.

The sword symbolic of the word of God. When Jews today are equipped with the Word of God, they will not only defend themselves but will wreck havoc in the enemy's kingdom. As a result of this banquet, Haman and his ten sons and all the other enemies of the Jews were destroyed. God's word says, "no one could stand against them." People got so excited at the power displayed by these supposedly defenseless Jews that many Gentiles recognized the God who was responsible, and revival broke out!

Esther 9:2 - The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.

Esther 8:17 - And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.

Finally, the authority (the king's signet ring) was taken from Haman and given to Mordecai. This is the lesson we learn from this. Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because we worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.

Esther 8:1-2 - On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews' enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was unto her. [2] And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

Esther 10:1-3 - And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea. [2] And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? [3] For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.

If You Hold Your Peace, Deliverance Will Come From Another Source.....But You Will Be Destroyed

Esther 4:14a - For if you altogether hold your peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed

Mordecai warned Esther that if she didn't take her place in this scene God was playing out before them that deliverance would come to the Jews from somewhere else, but SHE would be destroyed. I believe our heavenly Mordecai is saying the same thing to the church, especially here in AMERICA! If we bless the Jews and Israel, we will be BLESSED! If we curse the Jews, we will be cursed.

A few weeks back our Secretary of State Colin Powell made statements concerning the standoff in peace negotiations between the PLO and Israel. He basically condemned Israel for what he called "the siege of the West Bank." When I read those statements my heart sunk to the floor for in them I saw the United States doing something that was more dangerous than setting ourselves on fire - siding with the enemies of Israel. If we are wise and I believe Mr. Bush to be a man who fears God, we will not be condemning ISRAEL but we will become her strongest ALLY. If we bless Israel we will be blessed, if we curse Israel we will be cursed. That goes for Christians too. When we make jokes about Jews and embrace the anti-Semitic spirit of our society - we bring a curse upon our homes and our church. We bring the hand of destruction into our lives. If the church does not take her place in this end-time scenario then the Lord is going to raise up another element of society that will. Israel will be protected and the Body of Christ will come together as ONE NEW MAN in Messiah! It's best we be on the blessing side of things with God don't you think so?

The Devil's Worse Nightmare; The Church's Greatest Hour - "For Such A Time As THIS"

Esther 4:14c-16 - and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?[15] Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, [16] Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

I see two things on the immediate horizon for the church - the end of legal abortion here in America and a renewal and revival of a love of Israel, the Jews and our spiritual heritage as saints. Many will take Esther's attitude - if standing up for the Jewish race means we perish - we just perish! It's better dying for God's chosen people, than living for a principle of hatred that was birthed in hell itself. When God births the One New Man "Glorious Church" that I believe is on the horizon, it will be the devil's worse nightmare! The concept of Jew and Gentile becoming one in Messiah is NOT a new concept. It's seems new because the church has been blinded to God's plan for us in these last days by our own hatred of the Jews. As Sid Roth says, it's so simple, you "need help to be confused!"

Ephes. 2:14-15 - For he is our peace, who hath made both (the two, NIV) one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; [15] Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

One of the signs of the last days is "lawlessness," or "apostasy." Apostasy is the abandonment of one's beliefs. Today one of the KEY apostasies is over the questions, "Who is Israel" and "Who is a Jew?" Paul called himself a Jew and an Israelite

Acts 22:3 - I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

Romans 11:1 - I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

Obviously, they are synonymous. Paul also made it clear that God was not finished with the physical seed of Abraham. Yet, some in the church today (and many in the past), claim just the opposite, saying the Christians have replaced the Jewish people as the new Israel. If the Jewish people are out of the picture, how we will ever get the ONE NEW MAN Paul spoke of in Ephesians? The truth is that we cannot be THE CHURCH without seeing a unity between the JEW and the GENTILE. To be a Jewish believer does not mean you have to stop being Jewish no more than becoming a Christian for a Gentile means we have to become a Jew. I do believe we as Gentile believers disrespect the Jews GREATLY when we turn our nose up at Judaism. Paul didn't condemn Judaism. He and the other apostles kept all the feasts that were required to be kept under the Judaica set of laws and ceremonies. Paul just pointed to CHRIST as the FULFILLMENT of what Judaism had sought to provide for national Israel. Christ was the fulfillment of the LAW. Christ was the fulfillment of the FEASTS. Christ was the fulfillment of the COVENANT. Christ was the fulfillment of Israel's MESSIAH. Christ was the fulfillment of the PROMISES given to the Fathers - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses. Christ was and is better than ALL the ceremony - but He didn't come to destroy it - He came to fulfill it.

Once a church or an individual gets confused on the Jew and Israel, they always seem to wind up in further heresy. We (the Gentile believers of the CHURCH) are come to the Kingdom FOR THIS TIME! We are here for such a time as this. The rapture is so close it would scare many of us to know how close. We know there is a coming outpouring of the Holy Spirit that is even greater than what we are seeing now. The key to all of this? The JEWISH people! They are the olive tree and the ones to whom our covenant of salvation was given. We need to return to our roots and start respecting our heritage again!

The Lord is turning the hearts of the children to the "fathers." When you see the word "fathers" in scripture, especially in the Old Testament, it usually always is speaking of the Jewish Fathers of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The children (I believe at least) is a reference to the church the "seed of Abraham." When we turn our hearts back to the fathers (our Jewish heritage) just as Esther revealed her Jewish lineage in the Kingdom when the Jews were facing extermination, we will see BLESSING and NOT A CURSE! The same hatred that filled Haman's heart for the Jews then is still alive and well today. You, child of God, and me, are the only TRUE FRIENDS the Jewish people are going to have in the earth. It's happening now and it will increase as we get closer to the coming of the Lord.

He's making the TWO ONE! Are you part of the ONE NEW MAN in Messiah? Messiah Jesus loves you today and wants you to be part of His kingdom. He has come to set the captives free. He has come as Mordecai came to be our deliverer from the clutches of Satan. He has fulfilled Purim, the feast of Lots, for the law cast a lot of death on ALL mankind, but Jesus Christ, came and set man free from the penalty of death. All we have to do is believe. All we have to do is have faith and TRUST in Him and release OUR LIFE to HIM so He may live through us.

Heavenly Father, Lord, we first come to you on behalf of the Body of Christ, especially here in the West. Forgive us of the feelings of hatred and anger towards the Jewish race that have crippled our vision and limited our scope of blessing. Open our eyes to these truths even more as we seek Your face. Let us understand that Moses, Paul, Peter, John, Mark, Titus, Daniel, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, David, Solomon - and above all others - THE LORD JESUS - were all JEWS. We thank you Lord for the new covenant which was made with the Jewish race but through Your mercy and grace, we as Gentiles were grafted into it. Help us in this hour to be brave like Esther and stand up for our Jewish brethren in the Lord and also for National Israel until the day she recognizes You Lord Jesus as her Messiah. Help us pray fervently for the peace of Jerusalem and for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Help us as Gentiles be STRONG witnesses to those of the Jewish faith in humility and compassion in showing them Jesus is their Messiah they have looked for for centuries. Give us grace to repent of the past deeds of our forefathers and cleanse the lands and temples of our heart to remove any trace of bigotry or hatred or malice towards the Jewish people, Your beloved and chosen. Thank you Lord for bringing us to the Kingdom for such a time as this! In the name of Yeshuah' our Messiah, Jesus Christ we ask it, Amen!

Because It's Getting Late Neighbor

PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM!

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